By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Cincinnati, Ohio---The No. 9 Owens Community College men's golf team captured a pair of first place finishes in the Cincinnati State Invitational and the Surge Classic this past weekend to kick off their spring season.
With the victories, Owens has vaulted to the top of the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) standings with eight points. Cincinnati State picked up two second place point totals and is sitting in second place with six points. Lakeland and Columbus State are both tied for third with three points.
Vincennes University also competed in each tournament, but they are a non-conference school, so, their finish doesn't affect the conference points for each team.
Cincinnati State Invitational
On Saturday, Owens and Vincennes tied for first place with a 304 in the Cincinnati State Invitational, while Cincinnati State finished third with a 314. Columbus State (323) and Lakeland (332) rounded out the lineup.
For Owens, Will Mullins (St. Bernadette's/Bristol, United Kingdom) fired a team-low 75 to finish just one stroke off of first place individually. Karit Kitipongpatana (St. Dominic School/Bangkok, Thailand) and Harrison Quirk (Wilnecote/Tamworth, United Kingdom) each came in one stroke behind him and tied for third place.
Bandit Chaisuk shot a 77 and tied for seventh place, while Dominic DiGiacomo (Ocean City/Ocean City, N.J.) had a 79 to tie for 11th place. Dylan Holsclaw (Plainfield/Plainfield, Ind.) and Wyatt Spalding (Summerfield/Petersburg, Mich.) added an 81 and 85, respectively.
The tournament was held at Miami Whitewater Forest Golf Course.
Surge Classic
On Sunday, Owens captured first place in the Surge Classic with a 308 team score, while Cincinnati State posted a 313 and Vincennes posted a 314. Lakeland (328) and Columbus State (334) rounded out the lineup.
All seven Owens golfers finished among the top 14 golfers in the tournament. DiGiacomo led the way by firing a 75, which gave him a first place tie. Mullins and Quirk each had a 77 to tie for fifth place. Kitipongpatana and Chaisuk each had a 79 to tie for 10th place. Spalding's 80 was good for a 12th place tie and Holsclaw's 81 was good for 14th place.
The tournament was held at Weatherwax Golf Course.
Looking Ahead
This past weekend marked the first of four conference weekends. This weekend, Owens will travel to Columbus, Ohio for a pair of tournaments on Saturday and Sunday.
OCCAC Standings
While Owens is in first place as a team, they also have five of the conference's top six golfers at the moment. Cincinnati State's Evan Bryan has a 151 through the two tournaments for the top spot, but Mullins (152), Quirk (153), DiGiacomo (154), Kitipongpatana (155) and Chaisuk (156) come in just behind him.